John Lawrence
Active member
Well here we are at the unofficial start of fall. I have to say my absolute favorite time of year. For me this month is always one in which I feel rushed to complete pieces for the fall shows that I attend. So with that in mind I've been spending a lot of time at my Workbench both carving, painting and sketching new ideas for upcoming pieces.
First up for me this month is that Ruddy drake that I show you without paint last month. He's just about done, just a few darkening and warming glazes in the deeper parts and then I'll start finishing the hen to pair up with him. I've done many ruddies over the years and like usual I was looking for somewhat of a new direction to go with the paint. I really tried to concentrate on not painting individual feathers, more to the concept of getting the overall feel of the bird rather than trying to make a model of one. The two areas that I haven't been able to figure out in a "looser" way yet are the tail and the tertials. But that becomes my challenge for the future. When I painted the side pockets and breast I wanted some very thick paint so that anyone picking it up could feel the texture and flow. In that I painted those areas six times, so far, to get the looseness of the different darks and lights. When carving it I struggled with my long time background of making decoratives wherein you strive for feather for feather accuracy with all of the measurements and feather counts and such. What I ended up with is a decoy well wider and longer than a real bird with an exaggerated bill shape. Here is the whole decoy.
View attachment P8310114.jpg.
And a detail shot of the head.
View attachment P8310115.jpg.
I've also started painting my "Toronto Slick" mallard this past week. Once again I've been experimenting in trying to paint the black areas without using any black paint. I id break down and used just a little Ivory Black when doing the base painting of the rump. But where I've gone with this area since is to mix a black using Thalo Green, Alizirin Crimson and French Ultra Marine Blue. Something different and loads of fun. Here is that bird in progress.
View attachment P8310116.jpg.
And here is the rear end of the decoy after a couple of painting sessions. This whole area got darker and more colorful during this morning's paint session so I'll have to show you that stage in the next couple of days.
View attachment P8310117.jpg.
Now this decoy is not a true slick because I did some feather outlining by using some stop cuts and then removing the wood behind it when carving. I did this same thing on the Gadwall I made in this style earlier this summer and decided to stay with it just to be different.
View attachment P8310118.jpg.
First up for me this month is that Ruddy drake that I show you without paint last month. He's just about done, just a few darkening and warming glazes in the deeper parts and then I'll start finishing the hen to pair up with him. I've done many ruddies over the years and like usual I was looking for somewhat of a new direction to go with the paint. I really tried to concentrate on not painting individual feathers, more to the concept of getting the overall feel of the bird rather than trying to make a model of one. The two areas that I haven't been able to figure out in a "looser" way yet are the tail and the tertials. But that becomes my challenge for the future. When I painted the side pockets and breast I wanted some very thick paint so that anyone picking it up could feel the texture and flow. In that I painted those areas six times, so far, to get the looseness of the different darks and lights. When carving it I struggled with my long time background of making decoratives wherein you strive for feather for feather accuracy with all of the measurements and feather counts and such. What I ended up with is a decoy well wider and longer than a real bird with an exaggerated bill shape. Here is the whole decoy.
View attachment P8310114.jpg.
And a detail shot of the head.
View attachment P8310115.jpg.
I've also started painting my "Toronto Slick" mallard this past week. Once again I've been experimenting in trying to paint the black areas without using any black paint. I id break down and used just a little Ivory Black when doing the base painting of the rump. But where I've gone with this area since is to mix a black using Thalo Green, Alizirin Crimson and French Ultra Marine Blue. Something different and loads of fun. Here is that bird in progress.
View attachment P8310116.jpg.
And here is the rear end of the decoy after a couple of painting sessions. This whole area got darker and more colorful during this morning's paint session so I'll have to show you that stage in the next couple of days.
View attachment P8310117.jpg.
Now this decoy is not a true slick because I did some feather outlining by using some stop cuts and then removing the wood behind it when carving. I did this same thing on the Gadwall I made in this style earlier this summer and decided to stay with it just to be different.
View attachment P8310118.jpg.
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